Interactive Molecule Dynamics (IMD) facilitates a direct communcation between VMD and a molecular dynamics program, e.g. NAMD. The primary purpose of this link is to allow users to send forces to atoms or groups of atoms in a running simulation, and allow the simulation to efficiently send coordinates back to VMD for display. IMD can be performed with a mouse interface, but excels when performed with a haptic device for interactive force feedback.

Gramicidin A

Click on the thumbnail for an image of using IMD to study the gramicidin A system. In this study, a haptic device is used to pull a sodium ion through the channel formed in the lipid membrane by the protein. Analysis of the applied force gives information about the potential energy profile in the channel.

More information

Step-by-step instructions for performing IMD.

The technical details of IMD.